From their initiation Catholic schools in the United States have assimilated students into the Catholic faith, provided solid academic ideals, and prepared students for positive adult citizenship. Youniss and Convey (2000) reported the importance of Catholic education in society: “By teaching students to bring their ethical values and religious beliefs to their involvement to secular society, Catholic education makes a significant contribution to the preparation of students for citizenship in a democracy” (p. 216).

A closer look showed that the Ursuline Sisters established the first Catholic school in 1727. Bouscaren and Ellis (1958) wrote about the three national meetings called the Plenary Councils of Baltimore, and attended by bishops of Dioceses throughout the United States, which began in 1852 and ended with the third council in 1884. The documents from the third Plenary Council of Baltimore specified that pastors were responsible for establishing Catholic schools in consultation with the bishop of the Diocese, and that they were responsible, if possible, for providing free schooling to the student. Bouscaren and Ellis further related that at the same time, a commission was assigned to set up a catechism, also known as the Baltimore Catechisms, or a teaching of the Catholic Christian doctrine that was taught until Vatican II.

McLauglin’s (2005) research showed that Catholic schools in big metropolitan cities in America were initially populated with first generation Catholics. Eventually, this group outgrew the larger cities and dispersed to suburban areas, where newer Catholic schools were established to fulfill educational and spiritual needs. The social teachings of the Catholic Church have kept in mind those less advantaged. Even though the total number of Catholic schools has decreased over time, almost half of the Catholic schools have remained in the urban and inner-city areas. In the United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing, McDonald and Shultz (2010) reported that although in the past 35 years Catholic schools have declined in number the church has not misplaced its focus on educating students and in particular those less advantaged and in need. Schools in inner city areas have still accounted for 43.0% of all Catholic schools in spite of economic crisis and population attrition and rural schools declined while suburban schools continued to increase.

Savage (2004) pointed out that “Catholic educational leaders will always be challenged by the dilemma of setting tuition at an affordable level and paying appropriate wages to teachers and administrators” (p. 184). In their United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment, and Staffing, McDonald and Schultz (2012) disclosed that the total full-time teaching staff in Catholic elementary and secondary schools has declined with religious and clergy now accounting for only a small percent of the population.

McDonald and Schultz (2010) noted the following:

In 2009-2010, the total, full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff in Catholic elementary/middle and secondary schools was 154,316. Over the past decade, the lay faculty percentages increased from 85% to the current 96.3%. At present, 3.7% of the professional staff is religious and clergy. (Staffing of Catholic Schools section, paragraph 1)

Although most Catholic school students are Catholic the trend over the past several years is that non-Catholic student enrollment has risen. The United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and staffing, McDonald and Shultz (2010) reported that the majority of Catholic school students are Catholic however; non-Catholic student enrollment has risen from 2.7% in 1970 and today stands at 14.5%. Catholic schools and other religious and non-religious private schools account for a small percent of the educational systems in the United States. As Youniss and Convey (2000) disclosed, “Only about 6% of American students attend Catholic Schools with a smaller proportion attending other religious or non-religious private schools” (p. 202).

As a Catholic educational leader, I am full of gratitude and humility as we approach Catholic School’s Week. I have never gone to work, only to school these past decades. Being a Catholic educator is a vocation, and the opportunity to minister to the families and with the faculty and staff of Christ the King Catholic School, each and every day, is a blessing.

What gives me tremendous hope are the awesome families who continue to sacrifice for this quality education, our faculty and staff who lead by example and give tremendously of their time, treasure, and talent, and our students who inspire us all for the better…for without them we are not. Our students are the reason our charism, mission, and philosophy thrive today. I have often stated that the lungs of the institution sit idle when our students are on break. When they are at school great promise, aptitude, and purpose exist.

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Lastly, what separates us from the educational pack is a sense of community that Catholic schooling provides. I believe, this cannot be replicated to our level -- elsewhere.

Abundant blessings,

Joe Silveira

Principal

Christ the King Catholic School

Prayers

Let us pray for the nana of Jason Brown (Gr 6) and Jackie Brown (Class of 2016) and the grandfather of Anthony (Gr. 4), Nicole (Class of 2018) and Christina (Class of 2015) Abudayeh who have gone to Heaven. God keep these friends and families, along with others who are suffering illness, loneliness or other challenges, in His tender and loving care.

Enrollment for our 2019-2020 School Year has begun! Please join our school community for Mass on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 9:15am followed by a schoolwide Open House. We have lots of wonderful things to share! Applications are available on the school website atctkschool.org

Midyear Classic Designs Uniform Sale

Are your children growing like weeds?!? Classic Designs will be here at CTK on Thursday, January 31st to give you an opportunity to purchase uniforms in person. The sale will be held in the Parish Hall from 7-9am. Items can also be ordered online for delivery. Click here for a list of items available.

Catholic Schools Week 2019!

Catholic Schools Week Starts on Sunday! We have a wonderful week of festivities planned so be sure to add these to your calendar:

Volunteer Opportunity: We are in need of one more volunteer to help us unstuff Family Envelopes every other Wednesday. Unstuffing begins at 8:10 and takes about 1/2 hour. The schedule is as follows:

Feb. 13 & 27, Mar. 13 & 27, Apr. 10, May 1, 15 & 29

If you can help, please contact the school office at 685-1109.

Tuition Due:Tuition is due Friday, February 1st and late February 8th. Tuition can be sent in through the family envelope, mailed, dropped through the slot under the front window (in an envelope please), brought into the office or paid via your online bill pay. Please check to be sure you are paying the current school year amount. Thank you!

Meeting Date Changes: Gr. 2 Sacramental & PTG

Date Changes: The sacramental meeting for all second grade parents has been changed to Monday, January 28th at 7pm in the Parish Hall.

The PTG meeting originally scheduled for this date has been moved to Monday, February 4th at 7pm in the Media Center. We appreciate your flexibility with these changes.

Can You Help with the Chickens?

Would you like to help us care for the chickens in the CTK Garden? Earn volunteer hours by feeding the chickens and maintaining their coop during weekends and school breaks. You are welcome to collect any eggs the chickens lay. If your are interested, please contact Ms. Noland atcnoland@ctkschool.org.

Choir Update

Tomorrow is the deadline for allchoir members re-register and any new members to register for choir for the remainder of the year. Don't forget to join us and share your voices! Click here for new Registration Form.

CTK Auction Experiences!

CTK Auction 2019 Experiences

We’re thrilled to present this year’s CTK Experiences! First, we’d like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank our brilliant experience coordinators, Alyssa Scotto and Whitney Scotto. We would also like to thank the grade level coordinators for their support and assistance.

We’re excited to announce that over 90 CTK families are hosting Experiences this year, with families from every class represented hosting Experiences. Thank you to each host family for generously donating your time, talents, and resources for these incredible CTK Experiences!

CTK EXPERIENCES WILL ONLY BE SOLD ONLINE THIS YEAR!

There are 22 CTK Experiences this year!

ALL will go live at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 24th and close at 7:00 PM on Sunday, February 3rd.

If you’re unable to attend the auction this year ALL CTK families are welcome to buy CTK Experiences online prior to auction. Many thanks for your continued support! We encourage you to find your “must have” experiences and purchase your spots as each Experience is limited to a specific number of participants. Don’t miss out on the fun for all!

*Please remember to check the date, time, restrictions, and details of each CTK Experience before purchasing.

*A reminder to the host families -- you do not need to purchase a spot for your child/family if you are hosting the experience.

The CTK Experiences are all donated by CTK families and not sponsored by the Diocese of Oakland or Christ the King School/Parish, participants sign up at their own risk and assume their own liability for the activity/event and waive all liability, including claims, demands, losses, personal injury, suits or judgment of any and every kind that occurs during the above described activity.

have so much to share about Auction this year: new Auctioneer, new caterer, fabulous raffle prizes, wonderful experiences, Fund A Need announcement, an incredible sponsorship opportunity and so many amazing donations! Look for the ALL THINGS AUCTION Email which will be sent out on Thursday!

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**Please note our Auction donation deadline has been extended to Monday, January 21st! Thank you for your incredible support procuring items and donating to make this a successful event. Please visit: www.ctkauction.com for donation forms and much more!

Spiritual Growth for CTK School Parents

CTK Parish is hosting a series of discussions on Friday mornings following 8am Mass to explore areas that can provide connection and spiritual growth opportunities for our school families. Please join us in the Parish Hall for hospitality and sharing of interests! Our next meeting will be Friday, January 25th.

Musical Theater for Students in Grades 2-8

Is your child interested in performing in Mary Poppins, Jr.? Musical Theater with Phyllis Gurnett is held at CTK on Friday afternoons when school is in session. Registration for Mary Poppins Jr. is open until Thursday January 25th. Click here to register!

Renting St. Stephens Hall

St. Stephen Parish Hall: One of the great assets of St. Stephen Parish is a beautiful multi-use parish hall that can accommodate over 200 people. A commercial kitchen and ample parking make this a fantastic choice for family celebrations, parties and community events. There is a discounted rental fee for St. Stephen and CTK parishioners. For more details, call the parish office at 682-2486.

Christ the King CYO Crabfeed

Christ the King CYO will host its annual Crab Feed fundraiser to support the parish program. The date is Saturday, February 2, 2019. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m with dinner starting at 7:30 p.m. Two ticket options are available: $55 and $75. For more information about the evening and to purchase tickets online, please visit our website: ctkcyohoops.org and click on the Crab Feed link. Join us for a great evening!!

Quick Links!

Click here to view January's Partners in Faith and click here to view January's Home & School Connection. These issues are filled with lots of interesting information.